MATCH PREVIEW: Cheltenham Town v Port Vale

Following back-to-back home fixtures in Sky Bet League Two, Vale are on the road this weekend as they travel to Cheltenham Town. We have compiled all the information you need below...

Fixture: Cheltenham Town v Port Vale

Competition: Sky Bet League Two

Date: Saturday 10th February 2018

Kick-Off: 3:00pm

Venue: Whaddon Road

Preview

Vale head to Gloucestershire still looking for their first win of 2018, but having came out on top in the reverse fixture, Neil Aspin's men will be confident of replicating this to secure all three points.

Tom Pope scored on two occasions in that encounter during a fine month of form in October, with Ben Whitfield also getting himself on the scoresheet. Kevin Dawson did grab a consolation for the Robins, but the Valiants ended a run of 11 games without a win in style.

With only two points separating the two teams in the Sky Bet League Two standings, Vale could leapfrog their opponents with a victory and that could potentially see them rise to 16th, depending on other results.

The Opposition

Cheltenham currently occupy 16th place in the division and they come into this fixture on the back of two draws, similarly to Vale, but they have not won any of their last four matches.

Their last triumph in the league came back on the 6th of January as they swept aside Colchester United at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, 4-1 being the final score.

You have to delve even further to find their last win on home soil. That was on the 9th of December 2017 as they edged past Crewe Alexandra at Whaddon Road, with Jamie Grimes scoring the only goal of the game.

One To Watch - Mohamed Eisa

After progressing through the non-league system, Eisa earned a move to Cheltenham in July 2017 and he joined the club with an impressive scoring record for Greenwich Borough, with 57 goals to his name from a century of appearances.

Now 23 years of age, the Sudan-born striker has settled in well during his first season in the Football League. He has been a key figure for Gary Johnson's men and he has signed a contract extension at the club, keeping him at Whaddon Road until 2020.

Eisa has made 35 appearances so far this term and he has scored 14 goals in all competitions, including 12 in Sky Bet League Two. He found the net in their last home fixture and he will be one to keep an eye on this weekend.

Talk

Gary Johnson: “We have got to stop conceding early on, of course,”

“If it is the first 10 or 15 minutes, and they have laid siege to your goal, you could say there is a massive problem.

“But the team come out the dressing room raring to go, they want to fight."

Neil Aspin: "Cheltenham have changed some personnel and they have switched formation from when we played them at home.

We are all desperate to get points and every game is difficult, but we have to be confident, play our own game and be brave."

Team News

Cheltenham will be without Taylor Moore and Danny Wright as both players will serve the final game of their three-match suspensions following their red cards against Mansfield Town.

Jordan Cranston (hamstring), Jordon Forster (Achilles) and Jaanal Gordon (knee) will also be unavailable as the trio are still recovering from long-term injury problems.

Neil Aspin will have food for thought following the reserves' win over Mansfield Town on Tuesday afternoon and Anton Forrester could feature after he scored a hat-trick.

Vale remain without Kjell Knops and Adam Yates, but other than that, they make the trip with a fully fit squad to choose from.

Coverage

Follow The Vale will be providing full 90-minute commentary from the match, while the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feeds will host live updates throughout.

There will also be build-up to the game on our official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: officialpvfc

Reaction will be available on the official website post-match, as well as on YouTube and social media.

Match report: Cheltenham Town vs Port Vale

It was an afternoon to forget at Whaddon Road, as Port Vale fell were defeated 5-1 away to Cheltenham.

Port Vale started brightly and piled the pressure on from the get go, winning a corner and a free kick inside the opening minute. Vale kept Cheltenham pinned in their own half, with Raglan coming closest with a header but failed to make the vital connection.

Despite the pressure, Cheltenham scored the opener after just 13 minutes, coming against the run of play. Mohammed Eisa finishing neatly in the bottom corner after Sanmi Odelusi split the Vale defence wide open. Eisa cut inside onto his right foot and slotted past Lainton to put Cheltenham 1-0 up.

Port Vale looked to respond quickly, and had another great chance. Luke Hannant cut inside and whipped in a brilliant ball, but keeper Flinders just beat Tom Pope to it.

The game seemed to quieten down and no real chances were created. David Worrall won a free kick right on the edge of the box after a long ball was played up field. Tongue lifted the ball in, but put too much on it and it drifted out for a goal kick.

Shortly after and Vale won a penalty, 10 minutes before the half time interval. Hannant made a driving run into the Cheltenham box and he was brought down with the referee having no hesitation to point to the spot. Captain Tom Pope placed the ball on the spot and finished it comfortably into the bottom corner.

The Valiants looked to be going in at half time at 1-1, but a looped ball over by Cheltenham’s defence created confusion at the back for Vale. After a mix up between Raglan and Lainton in the defence, it fell to Eisa yet again who profited and scored his second of the afternoon.

Vale started the second half brightly, with Hannant doing well down the left flank and managed to hang up a cross, but Flinders managed to punch the ball clear with Pope closing in. Amazingly, the referee pulled it back for a free kick, leaving Pope and manager Neil Aspin in disbelief.

Pope had a half chance 60 minutes in after Nathan Smith held the ball well in the opposition box. The defender teed the ball up well to Pope who hit the ball on low and hard, but the Cheltenham keeper collected it comfortably.

Forrester and Tongue were replaced just after the hour mark by Donovan Wilson and Ben Whitfield, and despite the bright start to the second half, Cheltenham added a third. Substitute, Elijah Adebayo was slipped through and finished past Rob Lainton to extend Cheltenham’s advantage.

Cheltenham could’ve added a fourth. Eisa found himself in behind the Vale defenders and looking to complete his hat trick, but Rob Lainton got down well to smother the ball from his feet.

Vale looked to respond with a quarter of an hour remaining, however any hope of a comeback was ended when Eisa completed his hat trick. Vale failed to clear their lines, allowing Eisa to cut in from the left hand side and bury the ball in the right hand corner to make it 4-1.

It got worse for the Valiants, as Cheltenham added a fifth. Will Boyle met a deep Cheltenham corner and nodded it past Lainton to add more misery to the afternoon. Vale will host Exeter Tuesday night, still looking for their first precious league win in 2018.